K-Trail ride March 2010
In late March four of us drove up to Clayton OK to ride several miles of unmaintained public roads between there and Mena AR.. Collectively theses roads are known as the K-Trail. Rich, Scott, and I rode our little blue bikes while Don rode his DR-350. Note how clean the bikes are early on the trail.
This is an easy stretch of the road where we took a break to hydrate and look around. This was not a race, though we were keeping a good pace considering the condition of the 'road' in some places.
This bus is abandoned several miles into the trail. I am guessing that when it drove in here the road was still being maintained to some degree. The loose rocky hills we climbed to get here would be impassible for a bus today.
Setup of a WR250 is as varied as the riders that choose them. These three examples left Japan as identical siblings, yet today they look, and sound very different. Choices in tank, exhaust, intake, luggage, and suspension modifications give each bike a share of its owners personality.
Here is my little blue bike after a mud-bath. I had a brain fart while crossing a deep mud hole and closed the throttle. That was a mistake. The motorcycle slammed down hard into the deepest part of the mud-hole, taking me with it. The muddy water got into my bags, inside of my jacket, and filled my right boot. The headlight on the bike went under the muddy water and took some into the housing. Cool water hitting a hot halogen headlight is a bad thing. The bulb exploded in the housing.
One key take away from this day regards the tool kit. While adequate for taking the bike apart and putting it back together it is stored in an exposed place along the rear sub-frame. In muddy conditions the rear tire coats the tool kit with whatever sticky goo it is slinging. My tool case was a muddy mess, as were my hands after touching it. The case is water tight, and the tools were clean once i got to them. I rode the rest of the day without a headlight. Once we reached Mena I bought one at a local auto parts store. .
One key take away from this day regards the tool kit. While adequate for taking the bike apart and putting it back together it is stored in an exposed place along the rear sub-frame. In muddy conditions the rear tire coats the tool kit with whatever sticky goo it is slinging. My tool case was a muddy mess, as were my hands after touching it. The case is water tight, and the tools were clean once i got to them. I rode the rest of the day without a headlight. Once we reached Mena I bought one at a local auto parts store. .
Cool and wet.
Sunday dawned cool and drizzling. We rode around Arkansas, exploring county roads and forest service roads. The snapshot at the left is on a county road that winds back and forth across a creek that it parallels. At this spot the road bed and the creek bed are one and the same for about 75 yards. One of the water crossings had a deep hole that I saw almost too late. As I rolled into it I opened the throttle to drive through if possible. How deep you ask? Mid-thigh on me as I stood on the pegs. Deep enough that at the bottom the bike's exhaust briefly blew bubbles under water. I was lead rider at that point, so once I got to the other side I stopped to see three wide eyed riders looking the situation over. Had I chosen a line two feet to the right of where I went the water was no more than axle deep. Rich, Scott, and Don made it through with no bubbles. The silver lining is that I rinsed off most of the mud from Saturday in that hole!
I will close the trip report with a few more pictures. We made our way back to Mena for lunch, the rode pavement back to Clayton OK via the Talimena Scenic Byway.
I will close the trip report with a few more pictures. We made our way back to Mena for lunch, the rode pavement back to Clayton OK via the Talimena Scenic Byway.
